Passion for premium sneakers becomes business endeavor
Erin Breen ’19 contributed to this story.
When Alexander Bell ’19, was in high school, he saw a kid in a pair of Air Jordan 13 sneakers and an interest was sparked despite their $100+ price tag.
He wanted a pair, but beyond that, he realized there was a potential business venture there.
Using the exclusivity of Air Jordans and other premium sneakers to his advantage, Bell began buying high-end sneakers and reselling the gear at various consignment shops and retailers in his South Philadelphia neighborhood.
“Boutique by Buckets started by me reselling casually sneakers and streetwear,” Bell said. “It started with a love of shoes and not being allowed to have them as a kid.”
Bell began to spend his free time scavenging the internet for leaked information about the production of premium sneakers.
He researched launch dates, amount of pairs being released, preorder prices and locations of where he might be able to get his hands on a pair.
“This hobby occupies more time than most people’s hobbies,” Bell said. “It is niche. Not many people go home and watch videos of people unboxing shoes. It is a passion.”
Each time he was successful in finding a pair of the exclusive limited-release sneakers, his hobby took another step towards becoming a business.
“On eBay, I saw they were $100 more than Footlocker had them,” Bell said. “First I thought, how do I get these shoes? Then I realized I can make money off of this.”
Finding eBay and other online marketplaces unsuccessful, Bell sold the premium sneakers out of consignment shops. The shops only charged $30 for display, allowing the enterprise to become profitable.
Bell said he receives 20 percent commission on the items he sells.
After using the venture as the topic of his college essay, Bell took a break. When he resumed his passion in spring of 2018, it was no longer just an interest—it was now officially his business.
“I called myself Buckets McBell when I used to play basketball,” Bell said. “Anytime I needed to fill in a name for something I would just fill in ‘buckets.’ It just made sense when I made a business to call it Buckets.”
The logo Bell created with his father depicts a bucket of peaches, referring to the way basketball was originally played using empty peach baskets instead of the metal hoops used today.
Other than help from his father, Bell also collaborates with friends and students.
Alim-Karim Kamara ’20 went to St. Joe’s Prep with Bell and because of social media and sharing a campus again at St. Joe’s, he has been able to keep up with Bell’s efforts.
This year, however, Kamara’s role grew when Bell asked him to start wearing the company’s gear.
“We do a lot of work together where [Bell] does a lot of styling for me for music videos and photo shoots and things like that,” Kamara said. “I also wear his brand a lot, which a lot of people on campus are starting to recognize.”
The recognition and admiration for the brand is what got Brent Sullivan ’19 involved with the company as well.
Sullivan has known Bell since freshman year but only started working with the company in spring of 2018.
“I saw him wearing some supreme stuff and asked him how he got it,” Sullivan said. “He explained that he stands in line for a while and asked if I was interested in helping him out.”
Sullivan’s role for the company involves entering raffles to help Bell acquire some of the premium shoes that drew his interest to the field years ago. Sullivan also models the designs of Bell’s brand.
Bell sees his business as shifting more towards sneakers and contributing to the growing resale culture.
“It introduced streetwear people to high fashion and high-end fashion people to streetwear,” Bell said. “Resale was huge for that.”
Bell’s ambition is evident to those who have been there to see his success.
“He is very hardworking,” Kamara said. “Although he doesn’t know what he wants to do, he is still making progress with what he does do right now.”
